Preserve, Protect and Condemn is a novel which blends real world facts, gleaned from current events, with a (so far) fictional world in which an overly intrusive government comes to the conclusion that, if it must provide for every want and need of its people from the cradle to the grave, then it also has the authority to decide when an individual has lived long enough.

The story takes place in a post-Obama world, where newly elected President Hart has won the White House by promising to provide universal healthcare. The Administration quickly learns that the fulfillment of this promise will bankrupt the government and destroy the economy. Faced with a populace unwilling to compromise on the level of services they enjoy and a Congress unwilling to compromise on anything, prospects look bleak.

It turns out that this new entitlement could be paid for if only there weren’t so many old, sick people expecting healthcare. The Hart Administration embarks on a secret plan to remove these inconvenient impediments. With the help of a foolproof new drug, courtesy of our Chinese creditors, great numbers of senior citizens unexpectedly disappear, thereby balancing the U.S. budget. This sudden depletion of a segment of our population results in a number of unintended consequences, and when the plan spins out of control, heads must roll.

Preserve, Protect and Condemn provides a window on a world, not so very unlike our own. It exposes the stark fact that as government control over more and more of the aspects of everyday life increases, individual liberty inevitably decreases. At some point, the phrase “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” becomes no more than an obsolete slogan.